Monday, February 27, 2006

: : Woof Woof : :

Saturday, February 25, 2006

: : Wena in Animal Crossing ~ Wild World ~

Righty-ho. *Cough cough*

Wena is now in Animal Crossing online. So, if you would like to peep into her little town, please drop your email details in the Comments section.

I'm really good in fishing. Can't seem to run away from fishing in any game. lol!

Setting it up was pretty easy with step-by-step instructions. Provided you're near a WiFi hotspot or with an access point nearby. I struggled with this silly WiFi Max for about 2 days before finally managed to get it done. The PSP one also works on the Nintendo DS, regardless of what is being said on the packaging.

So, anyone wanted to come, do tinkle a bit. :)

Mind you, my town is very very BARE. Just started today! LOL!

Thursday, February 23, 2006

: : Eating in Miri : :

I've been getting a few requests about what to eat in Miri. Here's the standard reply and I'm ... ah... sort of lazy to post it up. It's actually for a Norwegian who is heading there to work.

On a separate note, I may be back in Miri during April - May. Have to see if the training is confirmed first before going.

hi there,

u're in luck. i'm from miri, actually. :)

there's many places to eat in miri but i may be a bit out of touch because i only go back twice a year and usually eat where my parents bring me.

depending on what's his budget and whether he's "adventureous" enough to turn a blind eye on the cleanliness of the area. i'll put a note on how clean each area will be.

miri city council is extremely pro-active in ensuring food hygiene in miri. each coffee shop would be given a grade on the cleanliness of its premises. plus, it's mandatory to boil water for any drinks, be it hot drinks or cold drinks so that's a good sign.

hmm..seafood eh? i usually eat at this seafood place called Apollo Seafood at Apollo Hotel. It's in the middle of town, family own business that is doing pretty well for itself. It's diagonal to the MAS office in Miri. note that non-halal so he can order pork if he wishes. House specialty is the Drunken Prawn. Ifyou don't mind the cost, they will throw in live fresh water prawn into Chinese rice wine and boil it. however, you can ask them to use frozen prawns which is cheaper. it's a must-have for me when i go back because can't find a decent restaurant in kuching that can cook it. other types of seafood, they prefer well as well.

there is an expensive seafood restaurant out of town, along the way to Bakam, past the Teacher's Training College. it's a chain from Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. Fish can be ordered fresh and is extremely delicious but at a cost. they do also have frozen fish too for those budget watchers but still more expensive than Apollo Seafood. Still, it's very very good food as the way they cook it is different from Apollo Seafood.

btw, whatever happens, tell your friend that he does NOT want to eat tourist food i.e. sweet and sour fish, fried rice , lemon chicken, mixed veggie that is only cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, sweetpeas. try something else, there are a lot of different types of food that does not have to be spicy. just, don't touch tourist food.

and if he misses food back home, Marriott hotel is nearby and they have a really good selection of food. chef is european i think but not sure from where. but, food is really good, to me anyways. and i'm an extremely fussy eater.

other places to eat : dim sum at grand palace hotel. the most expensive place to eat dim sum but worth it. to me anyways. can't get decent dim sum in kuching. in miri, grand palace hotel cooks it hong kong style so it's pretty good. he can also rough it out at a coffeeshop (open air) known as Wawasan 2020 (don't ask why it's called that) and have their dim sum too. 2020 is open everyday. Grand Palace hotel - weekends only and best to go early before the church crowds go. then it's packed, especially sundays.

he must try kolo mee i.e. dry boiled noodles. there is a specific shop that i used togoto with my parents at the old vegetable market in the middle of town. they are only open after 7 pm or was it 7.30 pm? they're mee is amazingly tasty. i need to check with my parents on the stall number and get back to you on this one. the steam chicken is also nice to eat.

cheerio.

Wena

Tuesday, February 21, 2006

: : Fruit Cookies : :



Finally! Manage a picture up. Watermelon Cookies made by a friend for the Hari Raya Celebrations. It was delicious and scrumptious. Yummy yummy!

You know, one thing about living in Malaysia, is that all sorts of cookies starts popping up during the festival periods. I mean, this is just one type. The ladies would go out of their way to get the most delightful looking ones either by baking it themselves or buying it from other ladies.

On a side note, I got a new toy : click here. Ain't she a beauty? Jas helped me to get it from the USA so that there's at least some warranty to this thing. So, I'm now playing around with Kiki my little puppy. Sad to say that Wena got so excited that she trained the puppy until she became too tired to learn. Oh well. Now, the question is whether to get other puppies. Ahem. :)

Or probably borrow Abat's cartridges and get some puppies transfered into the DS unit. Anyway, that's for something back in Miri.

As well as Animal Crossing. Well, maybe.

Thursday, February 16, 2006

: : Cuteness : :

I'm still trying to wrestle with the issue of uploading pictures online. Bah! Weak connection streamyx in Tabuan Jaya, Kuching. You can tell when the kids are allowed to surf the net (6 - 7 p.m.). Then again, it also still slows down during the night time. Then it's adult surfing 10 p.m. till 1 a.m. Extreme frustration at Telekom at the moment.

Although at the moment, I'm amazed to actually to be able to log on to Flyff. Free game but massive lags. Once in a while, someone would scream something in Malay or Manglish/Singlish. I like the cute graphics though. Lag, definitely not. Kiddy cousins, ahem. Please do not nag your parents. It's too long a download (took me 3 days).

And for a free game of that size, there's only 4 GMs. Haiyo. First time I see a huge game with only 4 GMs and not enough forum moderators.

And I got messages from friends asking what's happening to this blog. Sigh. Until the line is more reliable for heavy traffic, will be posting picture-less postings until it's up and running better.

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

: : Free Gmail : :

BTW, does anyone want a free Gmail account?

Drop me an email at myremi (at) gmail.com and I'll send you an invite. Note that for Hotmail users, I think it goes into the SPAM folder or gets blocked out completely so you'll need to drop me a different email address.

Sunday, February 12, 2006

: : Newsflash : :

Streamyx this weekend is so bloody slow. Bah. To the point that it's almost impossible to load up any food pictures these days. Bah! Ah well. Guess you all have to wait for awhile then.

On another note, here's a blog that I've been writing for awhile now. Been at it for about 6 months now. Yes, there is an online game I play, called A Tale in the Desert : Tale 2. Although, I haven't been at it for awhile.

On another note, trying to download Fly for Fun at the moment. Taking a really long time to do so. It's a free game at 410 MB but if you want some cool stuff, you have to pay for it. Well, actually you pay for potatoes (don't ask) which in turn you can buy some need stuff with it.

Thursday, February 09, 2006

: : Blood Donation Requirements & Living in UK : :

I've had several comments about this and I get the feeling that they are starting to feel offended.

Reason for this is that a lot of hospitals are concern about the potential risk of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease a.k.a. Mad Cow Diseases. Outside of the UK, a lot of hospitals in various countries will actually turn down people who have lived in UK in the past 10 or so years. It's a disease that may not appear until a few years down the road.

Actually, it's not 10 years but rather since 1980 for at least 3 months stay in UK. There's been reports about contaminated blood in blood banks so the hospitals are being more careful.

And for those who have commented, I'm assuming that you're either living in UK already or have not donated blood outside of UK. Else, from the questionairre alone you will be filtered.

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

: : Urgent call for Blood Donation : :

A colleague of mine from work is looking around for a blood donor with O+ type blood. Her father is going to go for an operation tomorrow and the blood bank is out of this blood type. He will be having his operation tomorrow and needs another pint of blood. The hospital that he's at is Sarawak General Hospital (SGH). The operation is scheduled for the afternoon so if you would like to volunteer to donate blood, please do let me know. I'll pass your contact to my colleague. Drop me an email at myremi@gmail.com and I'll send you her contact number. Thanks.

However, note that if you are having flu, are on antibiotics, had an accident or cut, or have been to UK in the past 10 years since mid-80s, you won't be able to donate. I can't donate because of my study days in UK.

Now, before someone goes off and start complaining about the state of the hospital these days, the blood bank at SGH actually caters to a lot of hospitals in the Kuching division. That includes hospitals that are outstation and private hospitals as well. Also, note that blood banks are usually short of blood during a festive season.

Anyway, if anyone is interested, do drop me an email for the contact details.

: : WIFI for PSP : :

Ok, so I went a little bit overboard and got a WIFI MAX for the PSP. Reason was because I needed it to be playable on both the PSP and Nintendo DS. The DS is a bit more temperamental and not all routers support it. The sad bit is that only the problematic routers are available in Kuching. Bah!

Anyway, after much pain and agony along with the brainpower of Wonderful Wong, we managed to get it working. Phew! That was a pain in itself.

And kiddies, please do not ask your parents for one. Take it from Cousin/Auntie Wena, you'll not be using it so much.

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

: : Foodie Goodie Goodness Frappr! : :

Calling all food bloggers to put your markers at Foodie Goodie Goodness Frappr!

The world of Food Blogs have grown a lot more since 2003. Let's see how big.

Although, it's been an extremely long time since I've been in contact with other food bloggers. Well, no time like the present!

Monday, February 06, 2006

: : Fashion Food : :

Fashion food indeed. Well, maybe. Then again, taken with an extremely fashionable phone, the SE W800i. However, heavily edited because the lighting is not so good. (Actually, it's because Wena takes such lousy pictures).



Durian Chips. Made in Thailand. Bought from Singapore, I think. I found it at my auntie's house about a month back. I didn't dare open it in case it spoils the taste of the wonderful dinner that Auntie M cooks. This is the same Auntie M whose dinner invitations are never turned down.



Now this is not normal. Oh, the Mandarin Orange is normal. The packaging is not. During Chinese New Year, there are crates and crates and crates and more crates of Mandarin Oranges shipped in from China. Now, the oranges are usually wrapped in very thin pieces of pink paper. This is the 1st time I've seen on in a nicely printed plastic bag. I shudder to think how much they would cost compared to the pink-paper-wrapped one. It's a good marketing ploy but I do wonder whether the price was worth it. From last week in the office. I think my department went through nearly 10 crates of oranges. And the doctor wonders what's wrong with all of us having gas strict issues prior to CNY.





I got this today from another colleague in the IT department. Seaweed Biscuits from Klang, Selangor, surprisingly. The biscuits were extremely small but addictive!! Tasted really nice. Brand is Golden Sun.

: : Camera Protection : :

Got my heavy-duty, armor plated, bullet proof camera bag today. A friend from work bought it for me from Singapore. This is the Lowepro CompuRover AW. Bought from Cathay Singapore, apparently the Lowepro distributor for SE Asia.

Having said that, this bag is about half my height! Didn't expect it to be this big! LOL! Pascale was trying it out as well and it was 2/3 her height!

Yes, we are very small in Asia.

Saturday, February 04, 2006

: : Foodie Gooddie @ Food Candy : :

Just got an invitation to join this networking ring known as Food Candy. Yes, it's another round of Friendsters but this time food theme. Going to give eGullet a run for their money, I'm sure.

Friday, February 03, 2006

: : Reunion Dinner : :



Reunion dinner with the usual trimmings. It's a Nonya theme dinner though. Other than the customary leek, fish and prawn dishes, we had Salted Vegetable Soup with Duck and Pork Leg. Yum. Ok, so it sounds weird but believe me, it tasted delicious.

: : Word of Caution : :

These days, it's better for me to keep my mouth shut about the games I'm playing. I'm currently not a favourite amongst my cousins. Their pocket is running dry because of what I've been discussing passionately talking to their kids about.

And it all started from my little Gameboy Pocket back in 97.

On another note, this itty bitty little blog is not viewable from Curtin University. Why? The scrumptious looking pictures takes too much bandwidth. Just heard from a friend. hee hee! Guess good food not only contributes to bigger sizes, it also hits on the net lines.

Oh, new pics? Tonight. The main reason I've not been uploading lately is because I don't have a good FTP software to upload the pictures. Am currently using IE but it can take forever to upload. Any suggestions? Preferably freeware.

Thursday, February 02, 2006

: : Oh! Laksa : :

Guess what? You can now order Sarawak Laksa Paste online. And yes ,it's from the Blue Swallow Brand although repackaged.

How much? No idea. It's not listed on the website. You'll need to contact the manufacturers for it.

Site is designed by RedBoxStudio duo, Nic and Krista. I met them a couple of years ago at cooknengr's New Year Party. Nice couple. :) Then again, when one is that tipsy, everyone seems nice. *waves to Nic and Krista!*

: : Conversations during CNY : :

Sina' and Dad were around during this CNY celebration in Kuching. So, I've been following them around with the various lunches and dinners around Kuching town. Never easy looking for a place to eat during CNY as most restaurants are closed.

Anyway, here are some of the conversations that we were all having. It was a "challenge" to actually continue some of the conversation while still trying to enjoy the meal.

1st day dinner : Eldest Uncle's home. My cousin was supervising the kids dinner : both his kids and his sisters.

Cousin : J, you can't leave the table until everyone has finish eating.
J : Awwwww... *sad face and big big eyes*.
S : Man, this feels like jail.
R : We're all in jail together. Humph!
C : *Concentrates really hard on eating*.
Cousin : So, hurry up and finish eating first.


2nd day lunch : With Sina's friends in Kuching. Uncle sure has a lot to talk about what it's like living in the jungle interiors of Sarawak. So, it was definitely a lively conversation.

Uncle : People go missing in the jungle while trekking. It's either the hantu (ghost) or the python has caught them.
Wena : Wow! The python can attack that fast?
Uncle : Yes yes. They squeeze you until you faint. Then, they will choke you by putting their tail into your mouth. For the people living there, they would quickly raise their arms over their heads and let the python coil around them first. Then, they would reach down and grab the parang (huge knife) and kill them. The python can swallow wild boards and even a huge cow. Very possible for a human being to be eaten as well.
Wena : *Looks at ice-cream dessert*. Sigh. Very hard to finish my ice-cream now lah.


Uncle also related another story about Government workers in the smaller rural towns. You see, a lot of people living in the jungle have to travel a few days just to get government stuff sorted out. It can range from permits, paying fees, renewing licenses, making ICs, etc. The problem comes when the relevant officer is not even present. The general outlook is :

8 am : Report to work
8:30 am : Go for long morning break.
10:30 - 11 am : Come back to work.
12 pm - 2 pm : Go for lunch.
4 pm : Knock off home


Wena : Uncle, sounds terrible.
Uncle : Yes, and these rural folks can't complain to the relevant authorities because everyone is like that. I just advise friends to go after lunch. It's easier to get them in the afternoon, rather than in the morning.


Hmmm...the sad part is that most of these rural folks won't know who to complain to or are too bashful to even make a complain about it. And it's also not cheap for them to stay in the town inns an additional day just to sort out their government-related issues. Not all of of them have friends or family that they can live with for free.